State Sen. Steve Oroho, R-Warren/Sussex/Morris, said Tuesday he will remain the state chairman of the conservative organization in the national spotlight.

"It's more like a liaison-type thing," he said. "However, I agree with their principles of limited government and individual responsibility."

Kraft Foods Inc., Coca-Cola Co., McDonald's, Intuit, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have cut ties with the group in the last two weeks.

ALEC, based in Washington, D.C., has been linked to writing legislation such as Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which has come under national scrutiny since the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The law allows people to use deadly force when they feel threatened and absolves them of criminal or civil liability.

Oroho said he did not know enough about the Florida law to comment on it, but said he understood the "idea to defend yourself" and one's "family and property."

ALEC is known for its ability to create model bills to be passed on to conservative lawmakers.

A report Sunday in The Star-Ledger linked some of Gov. Chris Christie's legislation to ALEC, although the governor's spokesman denied any connection to the group.

A director from ColorOfChange, a civil-rights advocacy group pressuring corporations to drop their ties to ALEC, said Wednesday that Oroho should drop his title, even if he is just a "liaison."

"Anyone affiliated with that kind of organization should be held accountable for it," Gabriel Rey-Goodlatte said.

Rey-Goodlatte said ALEC creates bills that "suppress the votes of minorities, elderly, the poor and disabled," as well as "pushing the kind of law that allowed George Zimmerman, so far, to avoid accountability for the killing Trayvon Martin." Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder Wednesday.

Michael Busche, the chairman of the Sussex County Democratic Committee, said Oroho's ties to the organization are evident in "corporate welfare" stances.

"When he says he is not influenced by those people, it's balderdash," Busche said.

Oroho said he had never taken legislation from ALEC, but said he understood the need to get ideas from elsewhere.

"It's almost as if you're not allowed to have any type of collaboration or research," he said of criticism of ALEC's bills.

"Why would you start from scratch every single time? That's absurd," Oroho said.